Dozens hurt in collapse of deck during wedding celebration in Langley, B.C.

First responders attend the scene of a deck collapse in Langley, B.C. on Friday April 19, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Shane MacKichan

April 19, 2019 - 10:30 PM

LANGLEY, B.C. - Police say dozens of people were injured, some critically, when the second storey deck of a home in Langley, B.C., collapsed Friday evening during a wedding celebration.

RCMP Cpl. Craig Van Herk said 911 calls started flooding in around 5:45 p.m. local time reporting multiple injuries at a home on 268th Street.

Van Herk said police, the B.C. Ambulance Service and local firefighters all responded to the scene where they found 35 to 40 injured people ranging in age from children to the elderly.

He said one person was transported by air ambulance to hospital in critical condition, while possibly two others, also critical, were taken to hospital in road ambulances. Van Herk added that nearly 20 people had suffered serious injuries, while 12 to 15 others were treated in hospital for minor injuries.

Van Herk said there were more than 100 people at the party, however, it wasn't immediately known how many were on the deck when it fell.

He noted that it was a "fairly dynamic, complex situation" as first responders arrived to find so many injured people. He said investigators would return Saturday to try to determine the cause of the collapse.